Head-To-Head Analysis: U.S. Energy (NASDAQ:USEG) & Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) and U.S. Energy (NASDAQ:USEG) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.7% of Viper Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.0% of U.S. Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Viper Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 70.9% of U.S. Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Viper Energy has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. Energy has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Viper Energy and U.S. Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Viper Energy	0	0	8	0	3.00
U.S. Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Viper Energy presently has a consensus price target of $51.25, suggesting a potential downside of 5.88%. Given Viper Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Viper Energy is more favorable than U.S. Energy.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Viper Energy and U.S. Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Viper Energy	$835.80 million	11.52	$200.09 million	$2.33	23.37
U.S. Energy	$32.32 million	1.20	-$32.36 million	($1.59)	-0.87

Viper Energy has higher revenue and earnings than U.S. Energy. U.S. Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Viper Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Viper Energy and U.S. Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Viper Energy	24.65%	6.99%	5.06%
U.S. Energy	-145.83%	-74.13%	-41.72%

Summary

Viper Energy beats U.S. Energy on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc. owns and acquires mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin, North America. Viper Energy Partners GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Viper Energy Partners LP and changed its name to Viper Energy, Inc. in November 2023. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Midland, Texas. Viper Energy, Inc. is a subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, Inc.

About U.S. Energy

U.S. Energy Corp., an independent energy company, focuses on the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It holds interests in various oil and gas properties located in the Rockies region, including Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota; the Mid-Continent region comprising Oklahoma, Kansas, and North and East Texas; West Texas; South Texas; and the Gulf Coast regions. The company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.